Aztec West, Bristol
Built 1980s to today
Designed by various architects including CZWG, John Outram Associates and Thorpe Architecture
One of the earliest examples of an out of town business park was Aztec West on the edge of Bristol. Nestled near the M4/M5 interchange, it sat conveniently for road access to London, South Wales, the south west and Birmingham.
It was initially an architecturally ambitious business park. A mix of high-tech and post-modernist buildings until the accountants stepped in and diluted the interesting buildings with cheaper, prefabricated structures.
The name may be derived from the A to Z of technology. It was opened by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on Friday 15th December 1989.
200-260 Aztec West, by CZWG
Perhaps the most striking building on the business park is 200-260 Aztec West designed by CZWG in 1987-8. Motorways and motor cars enabled these business parks to exist away from commercial centres and be sited in strategic places next to junctions. The circular entrance celebrates this by being the size of a car’s turning circle. The brick patterns evoke the go-faster stripes popular on souped up cars of the time. It was Grade II listed in 2018: “as a key project by CZWG, a celebrated British Post-Modernist practice; a good example of a commercial development in the Post-Modern style, combining bold geometries, polychromy and traditional materials to dynamic effect.”
1200 Park Avenue, by John Outram Associates
John Outram designed 1200 to 1290 Park Avenue at Aztec West between 1984-86.
The 12 warehouse and office units combines classical and industrial elements. Pairs of units form giant pediments, supported on large drum columns that double as service ducts, a signature feature found in most of his buildings. Services and access ladders are placed inside these hollow pillars, forming what Outram termed the robot order.
